Malvern Girls' College

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Malvern Girls' College, was a leading independent school for girls in Great Malvern, Worcestershire, England.

Motto 'Vincit qui se vincit
Established 1893
Colours maroon and blue

Contents

[edit] History

The school commonly known as MGC was founded in 1893 by Lily Poulton and Isabella Greenslade. The main school and Poulton boarding house were situated in a building which had formerly been a hotel(the Imperial Hotel) in the town's heyday as a spa and resort town during the Victorian era. The other boarding houses were spread in the surrounding area.

The names of the boarding houses were:

  • Parkfield (for the youngest pupils)
  • Hatfield (for lower-middle school pupils)
  • Benhams (for middle school pupils)
  • The Mount (for middle school pupils)
  • Greenslade (for sixth form pupils)
  • Poulton (for sixth form pupils)

In the 1980s the school was much larger (around 500 girls). There were seven middle school boarding houses, all of which housed girls from Upper 3 - Upper 5 (11-16 year olds). These were:

  • The Benhams
  • The Mount with Ryall
  • Ivydene
  • Summerside
  • Avenue
  • Lindfield
  • Hatfield

Of these, only Hatfield was purpose-built a structure based around hexagonal shaped rooms. The rest were converted houses, including the house in which the school was originally founded - Ivydene Hall. Day girls were all assigned to a house, where they ate lunch and tea and were involved in social activities and house competitions. Only Ivydene, Lindfield, Avenue and The Benhams had day girls.

In the early 2000's Linfield was converted into the new Health Centre replacing the old San which was sold off. In 2004 Ivydene Hall was also sold to a development firm due to the expense of removing Asbestos from the building. Avenue House was also refurbished in 2002 to become a designated Music Centre. This replaced the old music rooms in the Main Building. This led to the extension and refurbishment of Poulton House.

All sixth-formers were housed in the main building until 1990 when a purpose built house was constructed on the Ivydene site. This was named Greenslade and the original sixth-form house was called Poulton, in honour of the school's founders. These remain the two boarding houses specifically for sixth form boarders.

Much excitement was caused when one of Marlon Brando's daughters, Petra, attended the school for just a few weeks in the late 80's.

The school was host to one of the most bizzare sports halls ever constructed: The Edinburgh Dome, so named as it was unveiled by the Duke of Edinburgh. It consists of a round, green, balloon-shaped building, contaning squash courts, a gym area and a large games area, all surrounded by a murky moat.

The school is not to be confused with Malvern College, which is a separate school. Malvern Girls' College had for many years had ties with Croftdown Preparatory School however due to low numbers Croftdown ceased operation in 2000. The site was sold and turned into flats and housing.

[edit] Merger

In February 2006 it was announced that the school was to merge with nearby St. James's School. The new school is called Malvern St James (MSJ) and is based at the Malvern Girls' College campus. As would be expected, this caused a bit of a riot in both schools.

Malvern Girls' College last headmistress was Phillipa Leggate: under her the number of pupils decreased rapidly. Rosalind Hayes is the Headmistress of Malvern St James.

[edit] Traditions/Peculiarities

Dead dog
Staff pantomime
Summer dresses
Charity weekend
Senior citz
Glass door smashing on the floor in strong winds
Horrible chocolate coconut cake
Six inch rule
16 year olds sitting on the floor for assembly
Christmas Dinner
Fireworks Display
Sponge pudding with fluorescent yellow lemon sauce
and many other things....

[edit] In the News

Susan Pope is taking her former employers, Malvern St James to a tribunal after she was sacked from her job as a nurse. Her eldest son Oliver Pope, 16, had coerced his younger brother, 10, into reporting his parents to Social Services for child abuse following a smack for bad behaviour. Susan Pope admits she smacked her son "once after he had ignored my warnings to stop his temper tantrum and repeated swearing." Charges against her were dropped but the Social Services put the Pope children on the Child Protection Register. Following this, Mrs Pope was sacked due to her conduct, which could endanger the schools reputation and the faith of the pupils and parents in her role as the school nurse.

[edit] Notable Alumnae

[edit] External links